Trott Excited By Chizik Hiring

Jason Caldwell

12/14/2008

Tight end Tommy Trott talks about new coach Gene Chizik.

Auburn, Ala.--When Gene Chizik was announced as Auburn's new head football coach, many wondered why the Tigers had gone the defensive route again. Struggling on offense in recent seasons, Auburn was thought to be looking to go offensive with the hire when things began, but in the end it was defense with Chizik.

That didn't seem to bother junior tight end Tommy Trott too much though. A veteran and a player familiar with Chizik because of his previous time at Auburn, Trott said that after meeting with his new coach Sunday night he's ready to get going.

"We're excited," Trott said. "Obviously he's a defensive coordinator, but now he's our head coach. He'll be on both sides. He might be a little more focused on the defense, but he's definitely going to be looking at the offense. I'm excited. I think he's going to be a good motivator after coming out of the speech he just gave. It was a little bit different style. I'm looking forward to it.

"He just came in and said how pumped he was and how jacked he was to be back at a place he loved," he added. "He said the last time he was in this room he was 13-0 and he walked out of there 13-0 and he plans on getting us out there."

A very intense person both on and off the field, Chizik was known for his drive during practice sessions and what he demanded from his players. Trott said that was evident when they got to meet him for the first time.

"It was more fiery," Trott said than what he was used to. "You can tell he's going to be out there and motivating us. He sounds like he's going to be a little more hands-on. He's probably going to snatch you up at a practice. He's going to have things done his way. He said we're going to get back to being physical and if you don't love football then get out because you've got to love football to do what we're about to do. In a weird way that's very inspiring."

Auburn's offensive style will ultimately be dictated by who Chizik tabs to take over the reigns in the coming days or weeks, depending on how long it takes to find his man. Even though he doesn't know who it's going to be, Trott said he got a pretty good idea of how Auburn will play after hearing Chizik describe his style to the team.

"He said ‘I left here and we were undefeated and had Ronnie Brown, Cadillac, Jason Campbell and a big physical offensive line and we ran downhill, SEC football. That's what we did and we did it well'. He said we were going to get back to that and be one of the most physical teams, that type of thing. Obviously we're going to get back to the running the ball. We didn't do it well this year. We didn't do it well last year. We're going to get back to doing that."

One of the important things for Trott during Chizik's introductory meeting with the team was the message of winning right away. No player wants to hear that he's part of a rebuilding process and Trott said Chizik has no plans to do that.

"He told the seniors not to be worried that it's not a rebuilding thing," Trott said. "He said we're not going to start from the ground up. We're coming out next year and we're going to be a lot better football team."

Now the process of getting back healthy begins for Trott after he had successful surgery to repair a damaged left knee. He said the normal recovery time for his surgery is six months, which would likely leave him out of spring practice. Even though he may not get to take part, Trott said he's looking forward to seeing Chizik in action and playing for him next season.

"I wasn't recruited by coach Chizik," Trott said. "I was recruited more by coach Borges. From talking with Will Herring and Joe Cope, guys I've kept in touch with, they loved him. Will Herring speaks so highly of coach Chizik. He said he's a great guy and a great coach and that we really got lucky with our hire. If Will says it you can take it to the bank. He's a pretty honest guy. I look forward to playing for him."